Memories Broken~

"You want... My everything?"

...

"Ahah..."

"Ahahahahahah." A feminine laugh bursted out from Elsa's seductive lips before becoming more and more intense.

"AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH." The melodious sound was only made eerier by the crazy glint Elsa's eyes.

"Aaaaaah~"

"If you think I will obey you because you can end my life. You're in for a surprise."

"I will NEVER submit to anyone. Throw me in jail...Torture me... Rape me... Isole me in a dark place for eternity. Nothing you do will make that change."

Slowly standing and not caring about her body being exposed in public. Elsa opened her arms toward Julian, as if she wanted to hugged him. A resigned yet mad glaze covering her eyes.

"So you may as well not waste both of our time and end this already."

Silently looking at Elsa and hearing her words, Julian sighed.

"I'd thought you'd say that."

"But the thing is, you don't really have a choice." Grabbing her head, Julian's hand began glowing in a orange light.

DxD magic had the capacity to manipulate and alter normal humans's memories. It didn't work on magical or supernatural being.

His EC magic found itself able to do everything Demonic and holy Power in better.

Normally, using his EC magic reserve for that was too wasteful and costly. But since they had grown with his ascension to second order. He could afford some.

Elsa wasn't considered a magical being. In fact, she was weak ro magic. Not only that, but her mind was fragile, twisted.

So Julian went in deep, searching through her brain for a particular memory.

—————

As a child, Elsa was abbandonned in kingdom reputed for its cold weather. Forced to hurt and steal from other to survive simply another day. She lived a thankless and meaningless life.

One day, she was caught trying to steal from a shop by its owner.

That day, the man decided to punish her by forcing himself on her. Elsa had not even batted an eye whe she had sliced the belly of the man with a nearby broken bottle of Granhiert.

When the gut bathed her body that day, she had felt like it was the warmest feeling in the world. Nay, the only time she had ever felt truly warm in her life.

This warmth was something that was worth living for.

But all of this...

It never happened.

What truly happened that day is that she was saved by a young blond boy. A boy way younger than her, a boy who killed her would be rapist in a single blow.

That boy was strange, as after murdering someone. He had turned to her and proceeded to give her food and clothes. All the while saying that he was sorry he couldn't help her more.

What was strange was that the boy had done more for her than anyone else had ever done, and yet he felt sorry he couldn't do more.

He didn't stay long after giving her those things, simply telling her that she shouldn't give up and stay strong. And that he hoped to see her again in the future.

With these unthinkable actions of rewardless kindness, the boy had smiled warmly to her and simply vanished when stepping outside of the store.

After registering the event and realizing that the food and comfy clothes in her hands were. Her weary and stony heart cracked by a simple kind touch.

Her belly had felt warm that day, and not just from the still hot food she had been devouring.

That comfortable – soothing warmth. It was certainly worth living for.

—————

Hefting the unconscious assassin in his shoulder, Julian felt drained.

Modifying an old memory and all the following ones so thoroughly cost him almost all his magic.

If his EC magic wasn't better than demonic power, it was doubtful if he would have been able to do it at all.

Going back inside the wooden shack, Julian was met by stares of all kinds.

Already annoyed by the situation, he waved his hand in dismissal. "What I used just then was racial magic, I'm not human."

"WHAT?!" Subaru reaction was the most extreme by far.

"You didn't ask, and didn't you see the signs?" Julian put the assassin on the table, he had already tuck her back in the blanket he had initially thrown on her.

"Err, what signs?"

"My unnatural handomness of course." Flashing Subaru his best smile, It seemed only Felt could appreciate his beauty as he saw her blush from the corner of his eyes. While Subaru's left eye twitched and Emilia only tilted her head while inspecting his face. As for Puck and Rom, the former looked unimpressed and the later frowned.

"Is that really time to be joking? What about the deadly assassin lying unconscious on the table?" Rubbing his brows, Subaru's gaze landed on Elsa.

"She's not a danger anymore. In a sense, my deal with her was successful and she will be my ally in the future." Julian's breathed out as he sat at the table beside Subaru.

...

"Okay, so now what?" After a bit of time, Subaru asked awkwardly.

"Well, Emilia got back her emblem and Felt is safe. Everyone's safe and I fulfilled my promise."

"What do you think?" Scratching his chin, Julian passed the ball to Subaru since he personally had no reason to accompany Emilia further. But with Subaru simpiness, he would want to go with her.

"You two have no place to stay right?" Before Subaru could speak up, Emilia voice sounded out.

"Since you helped me, it's natural that I repay you back." Her voice calm and even, the half elves began.

"I live in a big and mostly empty manor, and I'm sure the master of it will not oppose the idea of you staying there if you make yourselves useful."

"Well, I say that I'm doing it to repay you two... But the truth is there's more to it than simply that...." Biting her lips, Emilia clenched the hem of her dress.

"What Felt stole from and Julian gave me back was an emblem... A royal emblem. The symbol that give me the right to compete for the throne of Lugnica."

"You're a royal candidate!?" Felt jumped from her seat and asked loudly in disbelief.

Upon receiving Emilia's nod, Felt crashed back into her seat and giggled to herself. "This all make sense now. Can't believe I stole a royal emblem... I'm so dumb."

"So, a sort eligible heir to the throne of this kingdom? That's pretty cool." Subaru mumbled lowly to himself.

"Well, I don't know about you Subaru. But a place to stay, a manor even, sound pretty good to me." Julian drawled, indwardly pleased that all was going smoothly in the end.

"Yeah! That sound great." While nodding repeatedly in agreement, Subaru was sending subtle glances at Emilia.

"Looks like it's already decided. But just to be sure. Being a royal candidate is a political thing right? It certainly sound like it at least. Knowing that, the bit about repaying us not being the whole truth of inviting us is because you wants us as a sort of allies?" Julian looked at Emilia to make things clears.

Her shoulders dropping at his words, Emilia sighed. "That's right."

"So like what? Only thing we have to do is support your claim to the throne? Sound pretty good to me!" Subaru said, scratching his head at Emilia downcast face.

"That's... I'll be implicating you with me and all these political games." Emilia tried to explain.

"There's nothing needing clarifying, it's not a problem. We're stranger in this land, that candidate or the other. It doesn't really concern us, so if we have to do this anyway. Better take our chance and put our eggs on someone as kind as you than shooting it homeless." Julian shrugged and said, to the agreement of Subaru.

"If you two say so..." Her eyes lightning up subtly, Emilia smiled and put her hands behind her back.

"Yawn~! I don't know about you guys, but this was a pretty tiredsome day, I'm becoming sleepy." Relaxing in his seat, Subaru sent a doubtful to Elsa and shook his head.

"So Emilia-San, this manor of your. Do we walk to it or..."

"Oh! Of course not! In fact, there's someone already coming to pick us up with a carriage." Emilia waved her hands rapidly in rebuking and informed them.

"So, you're leaving Aniki?" Following the conversation silently for a while, Felt asked Julian rethorically.

"Seems like it, I'll come back if I have the opportunity in the future." After nodding, Julian stood up and went to whisper to Felt while the Emilia and Subaru were exchanging farewell with Old Rom.

"Also, it' your choice if you wants to look into it. When you gave the royal emblem to me, it was shining when in contact with you. All the time I had it in my possession, it didn't do so. But it did again when I gave the emblem to Emilia." Smiling, Julian stepped back and patted her head. Getting away with it this time since Felt was lost in thought.

"Julian-Kun, Subaru-Kun. The carriage is here." Fiddling around with a sort of device, Emilia suddenly spoke up.

—————

"Uwaaah~ Lia. My time's over for today. You know what to do if something's happening." Throwing a glance at Julian and the unconscious woman at his side, Puck yawned and leaned his head against Emilia's.

"Of course, good night. And thank you for today." Hugging the little furry cat against her, Emilia assured him and watched as Puck vanished from her hands.

"Why's Puck acting all cold and wary against you, did something happen between you two?" His head hanging sluggishly on his palm, Subaru asked while eyeeing Julian.

"I had the same question, Puck wouldn't tell me the reason why you were not thrustworthy beside that he apparently couldn't read your mind." Tilting her head innocently, Emilia peered straight into Julian eyes.

Put directly on the spotlight like this, and with the truth of the question being so personal and shameful. Julian felt ashamed for the first time in a long while.

"I - It was a personal problem. Just before Puck attacked me today. I had what would rightly be called a madness episode. And Puck read my thoughts that moment..."

Gradually calming himself while mostly answering Emilia and not Subaru, Julian lingering self-loathing and guilt about that moment wore off as he came clean.

"If I'm gonna tell the truth, at that moment I had hostile thoughts about you and everyone else. That's pretty much the whole story, and Puck probably doesn't thrust that it wouldn't happen again."

"Wow... That's..." Speechless at receiving such an heavy answer from someone he downright thought as mister perfect, Subaru didn't know what to think.

"You wanted to hurts me?" Emilia eyes widened in surprise.

"That moment. I wanted to hurt everything." Julian nodded and began to looks out of the window. Eitherway, he didn't care if this Emilia would be amicable to him. It would just throw a tiny wrench in his plan since she still owed him for giving her emblem back.

"But you don't want to hurt anyone anymore right?"

"I-"

"It's okay, I believe that even if you lost yourself again, Julian-Kun would be able to stay in control just like you did today. Also, I don't think someone treating a thief like Felt-Chan so kindly can be evil." Before Julian could even answer, Emilia assured him that she didn't think lesser or bad of him because of this.

Seeing her so honest and well meaning face as well as hearing her words, Julian could only sigh in disapproval.

'So naive. And way too forgiving.' Despite thinking this and inwardly shaking his head. Julian couldn't stop the corners of his lips from raising a bit.

It was not needing, or perhaps wanting to let these words linger into the air that the three resident of the carriage proceeded to fall asleep one by one. The day having been tiredsome for everyone.

And yes, Julian too needed his beauty sleep. Though he was always sleeping with his magical eye opened.

(A/N: Do you guys think Elsa is more of a knight or more of a rook?)